OverReaction Monday!

Three days a week I drive forty miles down good ole 316 to work in Lawrenceville for my internship with United Rentals. Every morning, instead of listening to the same hip radio songs that we all get tired of because they are over played, I tune into 929 The Game with Randy Cross and Marc James. This helps pass the time while driving to work and also gets me informed in all of the sports I follow. One segment that they do on Mondays is called over reaction monday! Here I get to listen to the biggest band wagon fans all over the hub we call Atlanta. Every team in Georgia is put on blast after a loss over the weekend. Thats UGA, GT, Falcons, Hawks and the Braves. People on the air have called for Mike Smith, Mark Richt, Paul Johnson, and Freddie Gonzalez's head after every loss. The one that still gets to me is after a loss fans jump the gun on firing Mark Richt. At 134-47, Richt is one of the longest tenured coach and also one of the most successful college football coaches over that time period. Richt is also the longest active SEC coach and also has also won 2 sec championships. 

So here is my problem with why fans want him fired and what are their reasons for this.

-Not willing to do what it takes.

-To nice of a guy.

-Does not have his players backs.

-To Christian

-Too complacent 

First of all throw the religion question out the door. That has no effect on how he punishes his players. Not having his players back is also an argument that I feel holds little merit. When coach Richt releases a player it is not because he doesn't have their backs, it is because they refused to do things the Georgia way. Every team has their own way of doing it and with that comes expectations and I can guarantee you that when a player is being recruited that the expectations of wearing the Georgia uniform are correctly expressed. A players fate in college football has always been and always will be in their own hands. If anybody thinks Mark Richt is not a competitor, then they have never been to a Georgia game live in person because in the 40+ games I have been to.. It is very rare that you do not see him half way on the field in the referees ear defending his players. Theres one thing thats right in why people think he is to nice of a guy..

He is nice. Yes I could not agree more. This is one of the best attributes for a coach to have because in todays day in age if you are constantly bringing an athlete down, he will eventually become so down on himself that he will end up becoming worse of a player. 

In conclusion. Plain and Simple. Richt is the man and he is here to stay as long as he likes because he does things the right way and it is only a matter of time till his team buys in fully and they win a National Championship. 

Coming Down The Stretch

One exciting aspect when it comes to following the new college football playoff is how each week is broken down. For example each week, ESPN has been keeping college football fans updated with detailed evaluations of what teams are still in contentions. This week, seventeen teams find them still with even the smallest chance of reaching the college football playoff. Nine teams find themselves in a position where there own destiny lies in their hands. The other eight definitely need some help when it comes to getting into the playoff.

Top Nine in Contentions:
Mississippi State
Florida State
Alabama
Oregon
Baylor
TCU

Arizona State
Ohio State
Ole Miss

Eight on The Fence:
UCLA
Nebraska
Michigan State
Georgia
Duke
Kansas State
Auburn
Arizona

If you have any questions about what fan bases still have in their minds about if their team should be in the Playoff or not.. Just follow @CFBPlayoff on twitter. You can follow the action and get great real time updates throughout the week.

Today I am going to finish up with my predictions on who I think will emerge from the on the fence teams and who will fall from the teams who are in. I want to start off by saying the Dawgs will be in the college football playoff. That is the only team I realistically think can win because they have a shot to Win the SEC Championship. Two teams I think that will be knocked off will be Ole Miss and TCU because each one has losses to teams that are in the Top nine teams who are in.

There is plenty of football left to play and conference championship games that will make this new playoff system one that will come into a clearer light.

Tonights The Night

Today is not about the college football playoff. Today is all about the college football playoff and I am going to go as far as picking my top ten. As I was surfing the world wide web this weekend while watching college football I noticed a lot of chatter on social media. Why was this happening? Why the sudden spike? Well the day we have all been anticipating is the first rankings put out by the 12 person playoff committee. Yes I said 12, because one member is taking a leave of absence that is Ole Miss alum Archie Manning. Makes you wonder why? Hmmmmmm..... "Ole. Miss. Alum." Maybe it is a good thing because the less bias the better. Anyways, the first official rankings come up tonight at 6:30. All college football fans are anxious whether or not their team is in the conversation of the top twenty five. Of course the committee has to get that 25 down to a top 4. That is a lot of pressure.

Now, what I am looking forward to the most while looking at Twitter from now and until the final four is announced, is all the angry fans who have to right to voice their opinion. Those opinions in my mind are the most entertaining part of college football next to the actual games. I can not visually put tweets on this weeks blog because they have not happened yet, but that is definitely something that will become the norm on here. This blog is about anticipation and what is yet to come. If you thing college basketball fans are pissed if their team is not put into the 64 team bracket, then just wait when a Alabama or Ole miss fan base gets left out. Twitter might shut down. I personally can not wait to see what happens from now until December and I will definitely be apart of the conversation. 

He Can Coach Folks

I am going away from the normal college football playoff blog and talking about how UGA has absolutely been dominating since the suspension of Todd Gurley. Having someone to fill in like Nick Chubb is huge, but the main reason why Georgia is playing so well is the emergence of their Defense. Right now UGA leads the country in turnover margin with a +13 and all signs are showing that it will grow against Florida in two weeks. What is the reason behind the defenses success? This guy...

Yes this mans name is Jeremy Pruitt. He was hired back in January after he led his number one defense at that unethical school called Florida State. After the Suspension of Todd Gurley I sent out a tweet saying... 

I would say after a shutout at Missouri and a first half that only consisted of letting up 6 points against Arkansas has Pruitt earning his money. The defense is playing up to the expectations put on Pruitts name. Players like Damien Swann and Qunicy Mauger are beginning to shine. This comes from being comfortable and confident in what your coach is trying to do. I am a firm believer that any defense whether a 3-4, 4-3, or 4-2-5 has the potential to be dominant as long as you have players that buy in and are allowed to use their athletic ability to the fullest. This is exactly what Jeremy Pruitt is doing right now at UGA and he certainly has the Bulldawg nation buzzing about him. Let's keep the defense rolling and I can not wait to see the success continue as we go into Jacksonville!

Where is Mississippi Again?

One thing is true half way through the season and that is that no bodies preseason top ten is correct. If you were to tell me that Notre Dame, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, FSU, and Baylor were going to be ranked in the top five at this point I would have thought you were crazy! If you told me Dac Prescott and the Bulldawgs of Mississippi State were the number one team... Get out of town. One thing is clear, more top ten teams are going to go down, more teams will continue to rise, and the Playoff will become more clear. As of right now no teams are out of it that have suffered a loss at this point. This week Notre Dame and FSU will face off which means one top 5 team will go down. Ole Miss and Miss State still have to play each other, and there is still the SEC championship. The team that has the clearest path is Baylor right? Wrong, they still have to go through three top 25 teams in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State. There is still a ton of football left this year and I would not be surprised to see a two loss team make it into the college football playoff.

The real story so far is the two teams from Mississippi. Both have great senior leadership in Dac Prescott and Bo Wallace. One team will have to lose seeing that they play each other at the end of the year. I also believe that even though they are playing at such a high level that they will lose outside their own matchup. This.. well comes because they play in the SEC west and any team can beat anyone. These two teams have made college football fun to watch this year, which has made the madness of picking the top four teams to go to the playoffs even more enjoyable. The one sad reality is that if a one loss Alabama or Auburn team that does not make it to the SEC championship sits at home and watches either Mississippi teams lose in the SEC championship, that means they will probably go even considering an amazing year from the Bulldawgs or Rebels.

Who's Your Top Four?

In this weeks blog I wanted to make it more interactive with the readers of this blog. One thing I wanted to do was have viewers post a picture of a tweet that they made using the #CFBPlayoff. In the tweet I want to see who you have as your top four teams that you think will make it to the College Football Playoff. The field is still wide open and the schedules will only get tougher for teams down the road. We are almost halfway through the season and we have witnessed some incredible performances. Some in particular is the dominance of Texas A&M over South Carolina, Oregon's convincing win over then top ten Michigan state, Alabama proving their continued grasp of the top program in the nation with a dominant performance over the Florida Gators, and lastly our Georgia Bulldogs taking the fight to Clemson in our explosive opener. I want to see what you got and who your top teams are as of now. Lets see it in a tweet and make sure to also use the #mark4450.

1. Wes Disher ‏@copyDISHme  15s14 seconds ago

   My top 4 teams include @AggieFootball @OU_Football @WinTheDay and @FootballUGA #CFBPlayoff #mark4450

   Details

Who's your top Four?

Let Me Tske A Selfie

Social Media has changed the landscape of how people communicate with one another. College football has used all aspects of social media to connect with everyone that follows it. Outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even google+. One outlet that I did not categorize as social media is snap chat. The use of snap chat continues to grow every day. I did not consider it as a tool to market or share experiences. Since snap chats only last up to 10 seconds, one would think that it is only used for quick interaction. Since the introduction of Mystery, that has changed. Now being allowed to connect and share experiences for 24 hours really allows people to be connected. 

College football has taken advantage of snap chat starting this year. They have started to allow fans to be right in the conversation and share their game day experience with the entire nation. First it was Oregon and then the next week it was the South Carolina vs. Georgia game experience. People showed their tailgating experience, whrh includes drinking games, shotguning beer, pictures with fans, and even live game play. How does this tie in with the #CFB Playoff? It doesn't, it just TS an awesome idea and something that I thought was an awesome concept to get people involved in the College Football world.

Playoff Promotion

How important is it to come ready to play week in and week out in college football? Well simply put, your team loses... You're fighting an uphill battle the rest of the year. Teams that stille have a chance in my opinion to get back into the conversation is: USCjr, USC, Georgia, Oklahoma State, and Michigan State. All with one loss have a chance to climb up the metaphorical hill. If any of those five teams win out that means they went on to win their respected conferences. Of those five I am going to go out on a limb and say that if Oklahoma State goes on to defeat Texas, Oklahoma, and Baylor than I think they have a great chance. USCjr and Georgia has a tough road ahead of them with that tough sec schedule and Michigan State and USC need to find out how to play within themselves.

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Florida State (37)	2-0	1466
2	Oregon (17)	3-0	1424
3	Alabama (1)	3-0	1346
4	Oklahoma (2)	3-0	1325
5	Auburn	2-0	1252
6	Texas A&M (3)	3-0	1195
7	Baylor	3-0	1134
8	LSU	3-0	1114
9	Notre Dame	3-0	917
10	Ole Miss	3-0	840
11	Michigan State	1-1	832
12	UCLA	3-0	807
13	Georgia	1-1	729
14	South Carolina	2-1	718
15	Arizona State	3-0	680
16	Stanford	2-1	560
17	USC	2-1	459
18	Missouri	3-0	446
19	Wisconsin	1-1	414
20	Kansas State	2-0	326
21	BYU	3-0	246
22	Clemson	1-1	209
23	Ohio State	2-1	204
24	Nebraska	3-0	172
25	Oklahoma State	2-1	126

This being the AP top 25 means nothing at this point. There has only been 3 weeks of games and that is no where near to the end of the road. The first committee rankings come out Oct 28. Now this still only means that the committee has identified around 8-10 teams that could be in the conversation at that point. I expect the digital conversation to build and build leading up to this date only to explode upon the release at 6:30 on the 28th. Twitter is still the driver for talk about the #CFBPlayoff. Whether its bashing the system or selling your teams ability. I advise college football fans to join and follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram. There is a long way to go and I think there are many more upsets to come! My prediction for a major upset is West Virginia over #4 Oklahoma. West Virginia is a tough place to play and after their tough play against Alabama I think they rise to the occasion. 

#CFBPlayoff Madness

With week 1 and 2 of the College Football season underway the chatter that is college football madness is blowing up social media. The most entertaining part of what this new football playoff has created is the already growing controversy that is who is in and who is out. Already we have a member of the college football committee surrounded by questions of can you be bias. The committee is represented by one member of each major conference in the form of the athletic director. On Saturday that representative from the Pac12, Pat Haden, athletic director for USC was seen arguing with the referees about a call during the intense game against Stanford. There was a controversial call and instead of arguing himself, head coach Steve Sarkisian called down AD Pat Haden to fight his battle for him. This was viewed as unacceptable by many in the college football world not just because an AD should stay out of the game but especially one that is on the Playoff committee.

On twitter the conversation has grown immensely and it is not coming from just the main twitter handle @CFBPlayoff. Colleges and TV stations are among the most active accounts on Twitter trying to market their individual brand. DR Pepper has also embraced the #CFBPlayoff and used it as a tool to advertise their brand as well and putting their name out their on an already massive conversation. 

I think that if companies position themselves in the right way they can use it to put themselves out their and really grow their image. 

So It Begins: The College Football Playoff

Something that needs to be known about me is my passion for sports. In particular I have a passion for College Football. This season marks the first year of "The New College Football  Playoff." It will showcase the top four teams in the country voted on by the new Selection Committee. The announcement of the selection committee was made official on October 16, 2013. Such names represent as Condoleezza Rice, Archie Manning, and five Athletic Directors from the five major conferences. There are a total of 13 members of the committee. 

The choice to have a four team playoff and go away from the tradition 1 vs. 2 match up has been a long time waiting. Social Media will give the entire digital world a chance to share their voice and opinions on who is in and who is left out. To think that these committee members will not be listening to the opinions of America is naive. Between Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook; the conversation will be huge digitally throughout the college football season. If you thought the drama was done with allowing four teams in... think again! Someone will still be left out that should have gotten in and someone might not deserve to be there? Tension will way heavy come the end of the season and I am ready for the roller coaster that is college football... Are you? Join the conversation by following @CFBPlayoff on Twitter and Instagram.